January 2023

TEXARKANA MAGAZINE

TURNING LOVE INTO SERVICE BY TERRI GRAVITT PHOTOS BY MATT CORNELIUS

M other Teresa said, “Love cannot remain by itself—it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service.” Catie and Scott Swenson had a vision to do just this—not only love but serve. Out of their own personal struggle, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, a non-profit organization created to provide support for families of infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), was born. The name of the organization comes from Psalm 139. “This entire Psalm became a prayer and a promise we clung to when we got the call from the doctor in December 2016 that our baby, SJ, may have had spina bifida,” Catie recalled. “It started off about SJ,” she continued, “but after he was born, it became a reminder that our big boys are also fearfully and wonderfully made with resilience, strength, tolerance, love, hope, and energy!

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COMMUNITY & CULTURE

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